 | Addis Ababa Warnings or Dangers | Tips 1 - 10 of 11 |  |
Popular Warnings or Dangers | Miscellaneous Warnings or Dangers Tips | All Tips (11)
It can get hot in Ethiopia, but don’t think for a minute that you can open a window on a bus or in a taxi to cool down. Ethiopians have a fear of disease being caught by air blowing in through open windows. Shared taxis are not too bad as the side door is often open. Large busses and small taxis can be a real problem though. Click on the picture. Its where a handle was so you could roll down the window. Mr. Taxi driver removed them so you can’t! A lot of taxis do this. If it is really warm look inside a taxi first. No handles = no ride. Leave a Comment |
There are no ATMs in the transit area, and the restaurants do not take cards. 12 hours with an 11 year old kid, that is NOT a good memory. To leave the transit area we had to pay for a transit visa, but they did not accept credit cards ...
Be sure to bring cash if you have to spend some time between your flights! Leave a Comment |
When walking the streets of Addis you might run in to some friendly guy just chatting along. Eventually he will tell you there is a cultural show just today and lead you of to some scrubby bar. Well inside a group of ladies will start to dance and you'll be offered a drink and also to invite them for one. THE DRINKS ARE NOT CHEAP. There are people who ended up payin up to 200 U$ I paid 30 birr. Leave a Comment |
Addis Ababa is full of beggars. I personally find it extremely difficult. People will follow you where ever you go to. You just have to move along and although it is hard, ignore them. I once had one guy following me for about 3 hours. Leave a Comment |
Hay que tener cuidado en las aglomeraciones, en subidas y bajadas de autobuses, y en el Mercato. Cuidado con los niños que te ofrecen periodicos y por debajo de este te abren bolsillos. Leave a Comment |
Ethiopia is full of guys who think they can wire up anything. My landlord was like that. He replaced and rewired my ‘hot’ shower over 10 times. Never works. Wherever you are, do study the evacuation routes/exits – especially before you got to sleep. I have smelled burning and had electric showers go bust several times. In fact, be very careful about splashing water in showers. Hard to believe but all these pictures were taken in showers! Leave a Comment |
...it will most likely start by someone slapping your arm or hitting you in order to try and get a response out of you so they can start a verbal argument with you while their friend picks your pocket. I had someone try and do this to me, but I knew what was up long before, so I just kept walking. Someone might also yell negative anti-foreigner statements, or anything else to get you pissed off and off balance. My advice is for you to just keep moving and don't stop. Leave a Comment |
Generally Addis Ababa is a very safe city to be in. People walk the streets at any hour of the night, including women by themselves and you don't really find anything seriously negative going on. One thing you do need to be aware of is the resident scam. This is how it will work. Someone will approach you and ask if you want to see a traditional dance with a coffee ceremony or something along those lines. They might also tell you that today is the only day it is going to happen because it is a "special celebration day" in order to try and pressure you to do it. If you do go along with it, this is what you have to look forward to: They will serve you coffee, food, and most likely a lot of alcohol. Then suddenly it will all end and they will demand you pay them a huge amount of birr for the whole thing. Anywhere from 500 to 1,000 birr. Basically it's a scam because they never tell you how much they are going to charge you up front. My advice is to just pass on the whole thing since it is run by con artists. Another way to know you are being set up is when someone says they work in the hotel they just watched you come out of. Usually you will see the same guy sitting outside a hotel keeping an eye out for new suckers, I mean tourists. Leave a Comment |
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One of the toughest things about any trip to Africa, is the hundreds or poor people you will see each day.
The poorest people have no welfare state, so live on the streets. You will see all kinds of ailment, children in rags, babies crying for food.
Some of this is a ploy to get money, but most is genuine.
You can't help them all sadly.
Lonely Planet suggests a trip to Churchill Road to buy meal vouchers, but we could not find the place :( Leave a Comment |
Well, I´m not too sure about the title because I can only compare it with a couple others. But still, trust me, Addis Ababa is SAFE. Violent crime is unthinkable and the most you will get is a clumsy pickpocket in Merkato if that at all. I've lived here for a while and even my female white friends from the West admit it. "Addis is safer than most parts in Vancouver or Toronto", etc. etc. Even at night, the biggest risk is that by a flee-ridden blind street dog or a raveged beggar who is so weak he can barely walk two steps without tripping over. Ethiopians are well aware that a foreigner is untouchable. |
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